Thousands of far-right supporters marched in Ukraine for the Defenders' Day and 75th anniversary of a symbolic founding date of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Thousands marched through the streets of the Ukrainian capital on Saturday (October 14) to mark the Defenders’ Day and the 75th anniversary of a symbolic founding date of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
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More than 20,000 people waved Ukrainian flags and flags of far-right National Corps, Right Sector and nationalists, Svoboda party. They chanted nationalist slogans, and lit flares and torches.
The UPA was a radical splinter group of the Ukrainian nationalist movement OUN (Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists), founded by Stepan Bandera, a leader of Ukrainian fighters who fought both Nazi and Soviet forces during World War Two and after.
Stepan Bandera is seen by many in Ukraine as a hero of the independence struggle, but he’s regarded by many in Poland and Israel as well as Russia, as a terrorist and Nazi collaborator who died with the blood of thousands on his conscience.